Last week it was out with bubble wrap and string again as the Museum of Dust had an exciting invitation to head for an ArtBomb event in Doncaster and needed to be carefully wrapped for its journey. An experimental festival and pop-up art space situated in a shop, courtyard and the hall of the adjacent Unitarian Church, ArtBomb encourages events that are designed to provoke debate.
Having arrived in Doncaster on a sunny morning, I initially set up my Museum in the courtyard, introducing myself and chatting with people there, including Terry Hudson who runs The Little Anarchist Bookshop. He kindly gave me one of his miniature books which I thought was intriguingly titled ‘Boot of Magic’ but actually was a ‘Book of Magic’. I haven’t tried any of its spells yet.
There was music, tea and biscuits in the courtyard, with talks and events happening inside the hall so I moved my set-up there. The theme of the day was ‘Beyond the Scroll’, and included talks about subverting ads, discussing homelessness and much more. At one point I was suddenly handed a mic and asked to talk about dust and why I collected it. ‘We are all made of stardust,‘ I blurted, and went on to talk about how I’d collected some of my samples.
After lunch I asked people what they’d like to collect and pop into a bottle, and encouraged them to draw their collections …
Someone drew her ‘nephew’s laughter’, Terry Hudson of the Anarchist Bookshop drew ‘conspiracy theorists’.
It was a very busy but short day … I had to leave early as I had a hospital appointment the next morning, but so enjoyed being part of the event if only briefly. Everyone was super friendly, so many thanks to Mike Stubbs/ArtBomb and everyone who made my visit fun by chatting and drawing. When I got home that evening I found an email from the Unitarian Church Reverend with a poem about stardust. Marvellous!